Marcus Aurelius: Military Seeks to Disarm Unstable Soldiers — But Only When They Are At Home

As much as I admire GEN(R) Chiarelli, I disagree profoundly with his position. It ((IS)) about Second Amendment. Admission of possession can be a form of registration. And registration can lead to confiscation. It is also about personal privacy. Except for cases where privately owned weapons are stored on military installations in either married quarters or unit arms rooms, DoD has zero need to know whether or not a Service member owns firearms. Suicide prevention concerns, while heartwrenching, must absolutely yield to personal privacy and Second Amendment’s right to keep and bear arms.

One provision in President Barack Obama’s gun-control plan already has played well in Congress and with the National Rifle Association: being able to ask people with mental health issues if they have access to guns.

Last month, Congress passed a little-noticed provision in the National Defense Authorization Act that allows commanders and ranking officers to ask troops who are struggling with mental health issues if they have access to firearms.

The NRA, a big supporter of the military, did not try to block the provision. But it was not immediately available for comment Thursday.

Phi Beta Iota: The NRA, like Occupy, is simply not thinking strategically. The assault weapons and large magazines are a distractor. What the NRA should be focusing on is blocking all attempts by the government to “administer” guns and to establish “criteria” for depriving citizens of the right to bear arms. Absent a complete judicial process, there is no authority or legitimacy in any government “regulation” of gun ownership or gun display in public. If the government has its way, any person on any medication deemed “mental” e.g. Zoloft, will be subject to unilateral disarmament. The local police across America are going to be confronted in the near term with a choice between federalized by DHS, or aligning themselves with the citizens that pay their salaries. The first choice will lead to many deaths. The second will put the federal government back in its box. The NRA should also be organizing a special union of employees of gun and ammunition factories, assuring a “continuity of operations” plan, backed up by armed force if necessary, to keep those essential facilities operational in the face of financial assault.